A quick look at a few of the bigger things affecting our business this week.
Steel: Another $15 this time. Nucor moved hot-rolled coil to $1,255/ton the week of October 19, with its West Coast joint venture up $15 to $1,320. That’s roughly 45% above this time last year and the fourth increase in a row. Nucor is still quoting three to five weeks, but Reliance, one of the largest metals distributors, flagged steel availability as a concern for the fourth quarter. We’re not seeing anything that points to relief.
Oil: Another strong week up. Brent settled Friday at $116.72, up about 6% on the week and well above where it was a month ago. WTI settled at $103.27. Alaska crude has pulled further ahead, and Petroleum News’s latest weekly report has ANS approaching $128. Attacks on Saudi export ports and Red Sea shipping continue to drive it, and the Alaska premium over Brent is wider than usual. It’s a long way from where oil was at the end of June, when Brent was still in the low $70s.
North Slope: The money is going into building facilities. ConocoPhillips’ Willow project is a $8.5 to $9 billion build with construction running through 2028 and first oil in early 2029. At Prudhoe Bay, Hilcorp’s 2026 plan includes 40 sidetrack wells and facility upgrades, its Omega Pad project starts in 2027, and a $180 million well at Point Thomson is due online in the second half of this year. Pikka is now pushing daily North Slope volumes regularly past 500,000 barrels. Bidding opened October 20 on the state’s fall lease sales and runs through November 12. Facilities work is where tanks and fabrication get bought, so this is the stretch to get projects scoped and priced early.
Infrastructure: No change. Federal highway and transit programs are funded through December 11. Core formula-funded highway work is steady, while some grant-funded programs are working with less.
Bottom line: Steel keeps climbing, oil and especially Alaska crude are at their highest in months, and North Slope operators are putting real money into facilities. Reach out if you want to talk through what any of this means for your project.